 |  | New Tech Makes NYC Stay Friendlier
Wyndham's first, Euro-style Tryp hotel in the USA wants to make sure you feel connected, whether to other guests in your group, helpful hotel staffers or other guests you've never met... Read more >>
Blackout Forces Group to Cancel Boston Meeting
The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance’s 127th annual meeting was meant to kick off March 13-17 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston... Read more >>
Ritz-Carlton Battery Park Completes Meeting Space Renovation
The Ritz-Carlton New York, Battery Park is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a complete transformation of its entire second-floor... Read more >>
Valley Forge Casino Resort Opening Soon
Valley Forge Casino Resort officials announced they will open Pennsylvania’s newest casino at midnight on March 31. Two test nights to benefit local charities will be held March 27 and 29... Read more >>
| Baltimore/Eastern Shore
Perhaps impervious to the economic downturn, Baltimore and the surrounding areas have been growing like gangbusters... Read more >> | Massachusetts
From Boston to the Berkshires to Cape Cod, Massachusetts is made up of distinct locales with undeniable charms. Likewise, the outdoor adventures available in each of the state’s group-friendly areas are wonderfully unique... Read more >> | Toronto
It’s been 13 years since I last visited Toronto, but despite several trips here in dot-com days, we never properly met... Read more >> | Upstate New York/ Adirondacks
Long a center of innovation and industry, as well as an outdoor mecca and cultural hub, Upstate New York provides a colorful and contrasting mix of sites and attractions... Read more >> | | 
| MeetingsFocusForum.com |  | Log on now and get in on the conversation with Joan Eisenstodt, industry education leader, and your fellow meeting planners. Talk about planning issues, destination dilemmas, issues with contracts, ROI, CSR and more. Just join in, post your question, and we know you'll find the answer! | | | MeetingsFocusForum.com is live! |
|  | Wyndham to feature TripAdvisor content
Wyndham Hotel Group will be displaying ratings, reviews and opinions on the Wyndham Rewards® loyalty program site with plans to expand TripAdvisor content to 11 of the Hotel Group's brands... Read more >>
Splendia announces the latest additions to its selection of Luxury & Character Hotels
Far from being a traditional riad, the Cesar Resort & Spa is a magnificent boutique design hotel designed by renowned architect Raymond Morel ... Read more >>
Casinos in New York State?
The Seneca Nation of Indians says not so fast. It is reacting to the announcement that the state is a step closer to having full casino gambling... Read more >>
U.S. Travel Applauds Passage of MAP-21
The U.S. Travel Association applauded the passage of S. 1813, the “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act” (MAP-21). The bill includes amendment... Read more >>
| Repeat Business
It wasn’t long ago, with the AIG Effect in full swing, that resort and spa meetings were seen as frivolous—to the point of being a nearly taboo subject.
But with the economy in apparent recovery, and groups perhaps discovering greater values in resort stays, the situation appears to be in full turnaround. Meetings Focus East checked in with some top resort spas—and a high-caliber corporate sales executive—to get a pulse of the current trends. Here’s what we found:
MASS APPEAL
“We are seeing the return of corporate groups that were reluctant to come to a resort property over the past several years,” says Dawn Ramsey-Jacobsson, director of sales at the historic Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club in Lenox, Mass. “They realize our rates are competitive with properties that don’t provide what we offer. We are even seeing meeting planners book more team-building and educational events built around spa/wellness and recreational activities, like golf,” she says...
Read more >>
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• Tips and trends that give you an edge in the world of meeting planning.
• Updates on programs and packages that will directly help your client’s or company’s bottom line. | | | Now available in digital, subscribe now. |  |  | D Place to Be in Vegas?
Fitzgeralds Casino & Hotel in downtown Las Vegas is undergoing a dramatic transformation to become the D Las Vegas Casino Hotel, scheduled for completion in fall 2012.... Read more >>
10 Tips for More Productive Meetings
The National Conference Center compiled ten tips for conducting more productive meetings. According to Sarah Vining, marketing manager at The National Conference Center, “To conduct the most productive meetings, smarter conversations... Read more >>
Massive Mixed-Use Makeover
On March 12, a gala ribbon cutting will mark the beginning of a new downtown Salt Lake, a massive urban reinvention and a game changer for residents and visitors alike.... Read more >>
Camelback Concessions
This summer, JW Marriott Camelback Inn Resort & Spa’s Summer Concession Package will provide special perks to groups gathering at the inviting Arizona enclave.... Read more >>
| Site Scene
PENNSYLVANIA
Hilton opened its sixth hotel in the Greater Philadelphia area, the remodeled DoubleTree by Hilton Valley Forge. The suburban 327-room hotel offers easy access to downtown Philadelphia as well as 24,000 square feet of meeting space that can accommodate 1,000 attendees... Read more >>
Toronto Eats
Belgian waffles at Le Petit Dejeuner or steamed buns at Bannock’s? How about an event at the Market Kitchen’s Miele Gallery at the historic St. Lawrence Market, one of the world’s greatest food halls? Toronto hotel concierges and locals on the street were quick to point out the tastiest spots during my recent visit, including favorites like the Carousel Bakery at St. Lawrence Market, reportedly the go-to place for the city’s signature peameal bacon sandwich.
While the list of suggestions was endless, here are four establishments I did experience, and they are all prime... Read more >>
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| | March 19, 2012 |  | |  | | MPINCC Annual Conference & Expo in San Francisco - Sue Tinnish |  |  | | Meetings Focus caught up with Sue Tinnish at the Feb. 16 MPINCC Annual Conference & Expo in San Francisco, and discovered that the CIC and Green Meeting Industry Council had just released seven of the nine APEX/ASTM sustainable meetings standards. | | |  | | Click the map below to search articles, destinations and meeting facilities by state or region. |  | |  | | “Fascinating research on how 'thinking outside the box' is more than metaphorical...” |  | | |
